Dream a Little Dream of Me
by don't-tell-me-not-to-live
Summary: If he wasn't going to talk to her in this world, she'd make him talk to her in HIS world. Set after the movie. Rated T for later chapters. Visit my profile to see the story banner.
1. Brilliant Idea

**Thanks a bunch to SopranoandBass for helping me firgure out what story to write! I had a lot of ideas for a new ArthurxAraidne fic, and she helped me decide which one to start. Go read her stories if you haven't already; her story, 'Ms. Swan', is really good! :)  
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**Dream a Little Dream of Me**

**Chapter One**

It was quiet inside the warehouse.

The inception team currently didn't have any clients, but they had all felt the need to come to work, just in case anything arose. Sitting around doing nothing for a couple of hours, though, had bored Eames out of his mind, and he managed to persuade Cobb and Yusuf to check out the pub that had recently opened in town. Arthur had declined, saying that he was feeling tired, and Ariadne was quick to agree with him. She was actually feeling quite restless herself, and she knew that venturing out with Eames would lead to a good (if not illegal) time, but she wanted to stay with Arthur- The point man had not spoken to her since the Fischer case ended, and she was determined to find out why.

Much to her disappointment, however, Arthur had promptly fallen asleep after the trio left, his body lying on the old lawn chair, his breathing steady. Apparently, he actually _was _tired.

Ariadne left out a frustrated sigh as she watched his sleeping form. Arthur was avoiding her, and she didn't know why.

Did she do something wrong? Did she say anything offensive? The last time she remembered talking with Arthur was during the Fischer inception, right before he kissed her in an attempt to ward off their victim's subconscious.

Ariadne could still feel his lips on hers, smooth and perfect- just like Arthur himself. She had felt a deep connection to him since her first day on the team, the way he had looked at her when she woke up- warm brown eyes, laced with concern and worry- engrained in her mind. The architect had tried to push her feelings to the side, tried to bury them and keep them hidden, but it was no use. Once he'd brushed his lips on hers, she was in love with him.

And now he was avoiding her like the plague.

Ariadne let out another sigh as Arthur, still asleep, let his head droop onto his shoulder, the light coming in from the warehouse window surrounding him in a halo of gold. His eyes were closed, and the corners of his mouth were curved upwards into a small smile. He looked so peaceful, so content. It made Ariadne hurt inside, knowing that as soon as he woke up and saw her, that smile would fall of his face in seconds. She tore her eyes away from him, letting her gaze fall on the large, metal briefcase sitting on the table beside him. An idea struck, and she raised her eyebrows curiously.

She knew that she would get into big trouble. She knew that she shouldn't be using the extraction equipment for personal missions. She knew that Arthur would be furious once they woke up.

But Ariadne didn't care. She had to talk to him. And if he wasn't going to talk in the _real _world, she would make him talk in _his _world.

Grabbing a familiar bottle from the table and quickly walking across the room, Ariadne made her way over to Arthur, who was still dozing. She took the briefcase and quietly opened it, revealing the hundreds of wires and machinery that lay inside. The architect grabbed a wire and slowly, _gently_, placed it on her colleague's wrist, hooking him up to the equipment. She attached another wire onto her own arm, downed the contents of the bottle, and sat down on the closest chair, waiting for the sedative to kick in. Her eyelids fluttered, and soon she was fast asleep.

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**Second chapter coming up soon. Read and Review !**


	2. The Dream

**Chapter Two up, ya'll! Thanks to those who reviewed on the last chapter. I hope to finish this story by tomorrow. Once again, thanks to SopranoandBass for her help. And if you guys could go on my profile and vote in my pole? It would mean a lot to me... Sooo...yeah. Anyways, on with the show!- er...story!**

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**Dream a Little Dream of Me**

**Chapter Two**

She was in a house.

A hallway, to be exact.

Ariadne fingered the bronze totem in her pocket as she looked around. The walls were decorated with large canvases of black-and-white pictures of beautiful bridges, towering skyscrapers, and magnificent cathedrals. She looked at them, awed. The buildings were absolutely breathtaking. Ariadne stepped toward the pictures, studying the intricate details of each structure. A tiny black scribble was at the bottom of each canvas, and she stooped down to see it clearer. The scribble turned out to be letters. The signature of the mastermind behind the masterpieces. A-R-I.

"_Ari…"_ the architect mused.

Ariadne stood up and, after looking at the pictures one last time, continued through the hallway. She turned the corner, only to find another hall full of pictures. But they were much smaller in size, not like the huge frames she'd seen before. And these images were colored, not black- and- white. Curious, she walked toward a photo and looked at it, almost jumping back in shock once she recognized the people captured in the portrait.

It was her. She was in the picture.

Only… her hair was much longer, and she seemed a little older than she was right now. In the picture, she was standing in front of a building, a skyscraper that Ariadne recognized from the photographs she saw earlier. She was smiling, her eyes glowing with joy.

Confused, Ariadne moved on to the next picture. It was an image of a man wearing a nicely-tailor suit. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, showing his thin, pale forearms. His hair was fixed, slicked back so not a single piece stood out. A small smile graced his lips, and Ariadne felt her eyes widen. It was… Arthur?

The architect was even more mystified as she continued down the row of photos. The next one held the portrait of a little boy, probably not much older than 7. He was slightly built, his skin as pale as moonlight. His face was shaped like an oval, a small nose placed perfectly in the middle. His dark brown hair was short and tidy, and a pair of wide eyes looked back at Ariadne, the irises like a pool of melted chocolate.

"_Wow… he looks a lot like-"_

A loud thump drew Ariadne out of her thoughts and she whipped around, only to find the same little boy in front of her, this time in the flesh.

His eyes widened "Mommy!"

Ariadne gasped as the child ran toward her, grabbing her lower torso in a fierce hug. She staggered back from the impact, but the boy didn't let go.

"Wait till you see what I drew you, Mommy! I drew a building, just like you taught me to!"

She was at a loss for words. "I-I taught you how to-"

"Joe? What's going on?"

Ariadne froze at the sound of his voice. She could hear his footsteps coming closer and closer until he finally appeared from behind the corner.

His eyes locked on hers as his face flashed through a series of expressions- shock, embarrassment, anger. He continued to stare at her, making her feel incredibly nervous.

"Joseph, go to your room."

The little boy looked up at him, confusion in his eyes. "But, Daddy, Mommy just-"

"_Now_, Joseph."

Ariadne felt the boy pull away from her and she watched as he turned and left, walking down the rest of the hallway and out of sight. As soon as he had disappeared from view, she turn back towards him, only to gasp as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along, past her picture, past the images of architecture, and to a door she had not noticed before. He yanked it open and brought her into the room before turning around and slamming the door shut. Ariadne watched as he leaned his head against the door for a few minutes, until he turned and faced her.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

Ariadne took one look at Arthur's expression and gulped.

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**Chapter Three coming soon!**


	3. Heated Conversations

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I feel so loved. :) **

**And if you guys can vote on the poll on my profile? If you already have, it's a different poll now (not the iCarly one). So...yeah. Go vote.**

**Anywhoo, here's the third chapter! Thanks again to the loverly SopranoandBass for her help, and I hope you like it! Last chapter will (hopefully) be uploaded by Monday. **

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**Dream a Little Dream of Me**  
**Chapter Three**

Although his face seemed eerily calm, a fire blazed deep in his eyes, his glare as cold as glaciers and hard as diamonds. Ariadne had never seen Arthur like this before and it frightened her. She knew that _he_ knew that, if he wanted her out of the dream, all he had to do was kill her. And by the looks of it, this thought was not far from his mind. But Arthur wouldn't do that to her… would he?

"Jesus Christ, Ariadne, answer me! Why are you here?"

The architect winced at his tone, shrinking away from him. "I-I… I didn't mean to…" All coherent thoughts flew out of her head as she watched him pace in front of her, pulling his hands through his hair. She took a deep breath and asked the question that had been running through her mind since she entered his dream. "What is this? Who was that little boy and why was he calling me his mother? Why are there pictures of me here? Why are there photos of buildings on the walls? Dammit, Arthur, why are-"

"My god, Ar. I thought you were smart. Do you see what this is? Or are you just so fucking _repulsed_ by my sick fantasies that you can't understand it?"

Ariadne's eyes widened in realization as she processed Arthur's word in her brain. The pictures, the canvases, the child. They were all hers. This was her house.

_Their_ house.

Her hand flew to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Those canvases portrayed the architecture she had built, the masterpieces she had created. She had even signed them herself, with the name Ari.

Short for Ariadne.

The pictures on the wall had been family pictures, images that documented her life as Arthur's… wife. And that boy, the beautiful boy with her face and Arthur' eyes. He had been her son.

"My son…" she whispered, looking at Arthur in shock.

"Lovely child, isn't he?" he replied with a bitter laugh. "He's got your nose." He stopped his pacing and turned towards her, his eyes locking on hers. "You didn't answer my question. Why. Are. You. _Here_?"

Ariadne swallowed hard. "I-I wanted to talk to you."

"You wanted to _talk_ to me?" he repeated incredulously. "And you couldn't wait till I woke up? You- you had to _barge_ into my dream and interrogate me? Cobb may have let you slide when you did it to him, Ariadne, but it's still a violation of privacy!"

"Oh whatever, Arthur. You don't give a fuck about privacy when you go on missions with Cobb, so why should this be any different?" she replied crossly, her voice much steadier now. She looked him dead in the eye, matching his own hard glare. "And you know as much as I do that you'd never talk to me in the real world. You've been _avoiding_ me, Arthur. And I want to know why."

"Why does it _matter_ to you?" Arthur retorted, resuming his pacing. "It's not like you've done anything wrong-"

"And I was supposed to know that?" She exclaimed. "Do you know how _bad_ I felt, thinking that you hated me, you hated the _sight_ of me? How hard it was, knowing that you were pointedly ignoring me for some reason, how hard it is to-"

"You think _that's_ hard?" he growled, moving towards her and standing so close, she could feel his hot breath on her face and see the tears that streamed down his cheeks. "Try having to live with the _guilt_ of kissing you, of leading you on, of letting you think we had a chance. Try having to go to work every fucking day and seeing the person you love right in front of you and knowing that you'd never be together because god forbid we end up like Cobb and Mal. Try having to live out the life you want, the life you _yearn for,_ only in your dreams- where you can have a home, a son, a _relationship_ with that person. You try _that_," he finished, pulling away. "And tell me what's hard."

Ariadne jumped as the point man stormed over to the wall and slammed his fist against it, the loud thud barely muffling the sobs that came from his mouth. He fell to the floor, burying his face in his hands and crying.

She knew that they were still in his dream, but she didn't care. She had to show him how she felt.

In two quick strides, Ariadne reached Arthur and pulled his hands away. She yanked him up off the floor and shoved him against the wall.

"Ariadne, wha-"

She pressed her lips against his roughly, swallowing the rest of his sentence. Ariadne felt his body go rigid in shock for a few seconds, before he grabbed her head and kissed her back just as hard. She laced her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, detaching herself from his mouth and whispering into his ear.

"I love you, Arthur. And I don't care about the risks- I need you."

He nodded and claimed her lips once more into a passionate kiss. Ariadne reciprocated his enthusiasm, moaning into his mouth, until she felt something tugging at her shirt. She pulled away from him, confused, until an invisible force ripped her from his embrace, flinging her across the room. She smacked into the opposite wall with a loud crack before falling to the ground, unconscious.

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**Read and Review!**


	4. Rude Awakening

**...Okay, I lied. **

**This is NOT the last chapter. I had originally intended to end the story with one last chapter, but I had the idea of throwing one of my favorite Inception characters (besides Arthur and Ariadne, of course) into the fic. Oh, and if you don't know what that funny little word that Arthur uses to describe him means, it's basically the male version of a nymphomaniac...yeah. I have a weird mind. **

**AAAAAANYWAY... sorry this chapter is so short- like I said before, I hadn't planned on writing this part. Next (and hopefully LAST) chapter will come soon. Again, thanks to all those who've reviewed the past chapters and voted on my poll. If you haven't done either, I'd appriciate it if you do so after reading. It'll mean a lot to me! :)**

**Thanks to the wonderful SopranoandBass for not only helping me and answering my questions, but for being just plain awesome. Huzzah!**

**Okay, this AN is getting a little long, so I'mma shut up now. **

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**Little Dream of Me**

**Chapter Four**

Ariadne let out a shriek, her eyes snapping open. Her blurry vision cleared, only to see a familiar face looming over her.

"Eames?"

The forger let out a throaty chuckle. "Morning, love." He reached down a hand to help her off the floor, picking up the fallen chair in the process. "Sorry 'bout that kick. I tried tugging on your blouse- Lovely color, by the way. Brings out your eyes,- but you wouldn't wake up. Kick was the only way to go," Eames helped Ariadne back into the chair and looked over his shoulder. "Oi! Someone go wake Sleeping Beauty up, will you? Arthur tends to get physical when his beauty sleep's interrupted." He shot the architect a sly grin as Yusuf walked over carrying a bucket of water. With a great heave, he emptied the liquid onto Arthur, drenching his entire upper body.

The point man shot up, eyes wide. He coughed, trying to clear his lungs of the water that had traveled into his body, before glaring at his colleague. "What the _hell_, Yusuf?"

The chemist shrugged sheepishly. "Eames made me do it."

Arthur redirected his eyes to the man in question, who held up his hands in acknowledgement. "My apologies, darling. I thought I was doing the right thing. You two were moaning something fierce," he added, looking at his two teammates. "I thought you were in the midst of a nightmare. Just what _exactly_ were you dreaming about, now?"

Ariadne blushed, dropping her gaze to her lap. Eames smirked at her, causing Arthur's glare to harden. "Oh, fuck off, would you? Only a satyriasis like you would have dreams like that,"

"Oh Arthur, how little you think of me. You think I don't know the difference between a moan of pleasure and a moan of pain? I'm insulted, really, I am."

"Oh you know the difference, do you? Then explain why you woke us up, since it obviously wasn't a nightmare you were worried about."

"Oh, fuck it- you caught me. I actually just wanted to watch you two squirm with embarrassment. It's quite entertaining, actually. I should have brought a video camera."

Arthur rolled his eyes before standing up, the cold air on his soaked body making him shiver. "I'm gonna go change."

"Brilliant idea, mate. Maybe your personality will be a little less boring when you come back!"

Ariadne looked up and shot Eames a reproachful stare as Arthur shuffled over to the bathroom. "Was that really necessary?"

"Sweetheart," he replied. "I love you, I really do. But this is Arthur we're talking about- no matter how much you love that smart-arse motherfucker, I'm still going to taunt him. It's just too much fun!"

The architect tsked at him, before standing up and walking toward the bathroom. "I'm going to check if he's okay."

Eames smiled and called out to her retreating form. "Okay, but be careful! The last thing we need is another little Arthur running around the place!"

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**Reviews = my of type drugs :)**


	5. RiskTakers

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LAST CHAPTER, GUYS! *tear,tear*

**This story was SO much fun to write, and I'm glad so many of you liked it! I read every single one of your comments, and words cannot describe how much they mean to me. This is my first multi-chapter fic that I've actually _FINISHED_, and one of the reasons I was able to complete it was knowing that you guys were waiting for an update. So thanks a bunch!**

**Anyway, now that this story is over, I need your help on deciding what fic to write next. Just go to my profile and vote on my poll. The poll will close on Tuesday, August 3rd, around 2:30 pm. Thanks to those who've already voted.**

**After you finish reading this chapter, please Please PLEASE leave a review- tell me what you liked about the fic, what you didn't like, what I could improve on, etc. And don't forget to favorite it! :)**

_**EDIT: So far, my idea for a sequel to this fic is in second place on my poll. If you want a sequel, GO VOTE!**_

**And, of course, thanks to the marvelous SopranoandBass for helping me out. **

**Okay! Here's the chapter! **

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**Dream a Little Dream of Me**

**Chapter Five**

Ariadne took a deep breath before knocking on the bathroom door. "Arthur?"

After a minute with no answer, she began to worry. Had she just made things worse by going into his dream? Did he regret everything that had happened between them? Did he not mean what he had said? She was about to knock again when the door suddenly swung open, revealing the man himself.

They stared at each other in silence until he stepped aside to let her into the room. Ariadne walked in, blushing once she realized that the point man was wearing nothing more than a dry dress shirt and a pair of black boxers. His hair was damp and messy- the gel washed out by the water- and a small hand towel was slung over his shoulder.

"Er… sorry I didn't answer the door right away," he mumbled, wiping his face with the cloth. "I wanted to dry off some before letting you in."

"S'okay…" she replied, leaning against the small sink that was tucked into the corner of the room. The architect watched quietly as Arthur pulled on a new pair of suit trousers. He buttoned them up, then turned to look into the cracked mirror hanging on the wall in front of him.

"You're acting incredibly cavalier for someone whose dream was just invaded."

He didn't look up at the sound of her voice, continuing his scrutiny of his reflection. Arthur pulled his hand through his wet hair, attempting to fix it into his regular, slicked-back coiffure. "Why, were you expecting me to yell at you? Throw a fit? Avoid you again, perhaps?"

Ariadne looked down in embarrassment. "So I take it you're _not_ going to do any of those things?"

He finally turned to face her, seeing the way she was blushing and fidgeting, the way a child caught doing something wrong would act. His eyes softened, and he moved towards her slowly, hands buried deep into his pockets. "Ar, I may work for him, but I'm not Cobb. It's okay- I'm not mad."

Ariadne looked up, locking eyes with him. "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, her voice laced with concern and worry.

He gave her a tiny smile. "I'm sure." They stood there, another awkward silence filling the room, before the young woman cleared her throat. "So…now what?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur replied quietly.

"Well…what are we now? Are we together? Are we not together? Will we just pretend this never happened? I was planning on asking you after you kissed me, but-"

"Excuse me, Ms. Ariadne, but I believe it was _you_ that kissed _me."_

She blushed. "…Right."

Arthur chuckled softly, before growing serious once more. "…Did you mean it? What you said about… about needing me?"

Ariadne looked him square in the eye. "Arthur, I..." She sighed and decided that she would just let it all out- lay it all on the table. "I've loved you since the minute I laid eyes on you. You are an incredible person, and I care about you so much…" The architect trailed off, waiting on baited breath. This was the moment she had been dreading since she'd woken up. Her eyes closed, preparing her for the worst.

A pair of warm hands on her waist made them open once more, just in time to see Arthur's face coming closer to hers. His lips locked on Ariadne's in a shy, tentative kiss- the complete opposite of the one they had shared in his dream-, before he pulled away, resting his forehead on hers.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that," he breathed. Her face broke out into a wide grin as she leaned towards him again, only to feel the point man pull back. She looked at him, confused and hurt.

"Arthur, wha-"

"This is a big risk, Ariadne." He said, cutting her off mid-sentence. "The last people to have a relationship on the team were Cobb and Mal- and you know more than anyone what happened to them." Arthur turned away from her, then stopped as a two thin, pale arms wrapped around his lower torso, pulling him back to her. He wheeled around to see Ariadne glaring at him, a determined glint in her eyes.

"I _told_ you, Arthur," she said, exasperated. "I don't care about the risks. My god, Ar. I thought you were smart."

He laughed lightly as she repeated his earlier words, before leaning in to kiss her quickly once more. "But, are you sure about this?"

Ariadne caught his gaze, brown eyes on brown eyes. "Arthur, do you want me?"

His breath hitched. "Very much…do _you_ want _me?_"

"More than you'll ever know…"

And that was all it took for Arthur to pull her close and kiss her with as much passion as he could muster. She kissed him back just as fiercely and they both smiled against each other's lips, knowing that both of their wildest dreams had come true.

Outside the bathroom, Eames rolled his eyes as moan after moan was heard from the couple. He banged his fist on the door and let out a holler. "Oi, Arthur! If you hurt her, I don't care if you're best friends with Cobb- I'm gonna fucking kill you! And you better make me uncle of your kid, you hear?" When the two lovebirds on the other side of the door didn't respond, he sighed and walked away. "Bloody hell. And they say _I'm_ the sex maniac…."

_**~fin~**_

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**Hope you liked it! Review, Fave, and Vote on my poll! **

**-MusicMakesMeWannaCRAZYDANCE**


	6. Author's Note

Hey, guys!

No, this isn't another chapter. Sorry if I got your hopes up.

_**BUTTTTT… **_this is an author's note. And _this_ author is asking you to please **please _please_** check out her new ArthurXAriadne oneshot. It wasn't listed as a choice on the poll, so the winning poll story will still get written, but it's just a fic that I suddenly had the urge to write.

Just go to my profile and look it up- it's called Hatred. *dramatic movie sound effects* Haha, don't worry- the title is a little misleading.

So yeah, go check it out. And while your at my profile, maybe you should…hmm… I dunno… vote on my poll? Read my other stories? Fave me? *peeks out shyly from under my eyelashes*

And if you guys want me to write a fic/oneshot about a certain pairing (doesn't have to be Inception or iCarly- it can be from any show or book or movie), just PM me and let me know. If I'm familiar with the pair, then I'll try to write something. But... just so you know right away... I don't do Anime. Sorry, but that stuff just isn't my style.

Okay! So… go read 'Hatred'!

**- MusicMakesMeWannaCRAZYDANCE**


	7. Author's Note 2

**Hey, guys. It's me.**

**NO, I'm not updating 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. This is just an author's note to tell you all that the sequel, 'We'll Be a Dream' is posted now. I know some of y'all voted for it on my old poll, so I just thought I'd let you know that I DID write it.**

**The story is still not finished, though, so if you do go and check it out, be sure to look for any updates and such.**

**Okay, that's the end of my little speech. Hope you're having a superbalicious day.**

**-MusicMakesMeWannaCRAZYDANCE**


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